The Best Halloween Prank Ever
by 1bluesapphire
Summary: A Harry Potter Halloween special. Very AU, Harry's parents are alive, and Harry is putting together a great Halloween prank. What is it, you may ask. Well, read on and find out. Written for Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but it is there for everyone's enjoyment.


The Best Halloween Prank Ever

Written for Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Prompts in this story are

1) (word) Scream

2) (Quote) "And remember, the last scream you hear may be your own."

11th September, 1990

Harry Potter was a very excited wizard today. His mother, Lily, had just announced that, once again, she was hosting the annual Halloween Prank. She had been hosting this competition for about five years, and this time, Harry had an excellent prank up his sleeve. He felt certain that this year, he was going to win.

He knew that none of the other kids in his neighbourhood had even thought about doing this prank, and so, he knew that it was going to work. However, this particular prank took a fair bit of time to organise, and it included letting a very small number of people in on the joke.

As he stewed the apples for the apple crumble they were going to have for dessert that night, his Godfather, Sirius, slid down the banister and into the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Prongslet." Sirius greeted him warmly, and sniffed the air. "Mmm, is that stewed apple I smell?" He added, grinning.

"Yeah, it certainly is." Harry said, smiling, as his mother walked into the kitchen to smell the stewed fruit.

"Harry, that smells wonderful. When you go to Hogwarts next year, you very well may be as good at Potions as I was." She said, and smacked Sirius when he said, somewhat scathingly, "Not if he's taught by Snape."

Harry rolled his eyes, and when Lily went off to do some gardening, he said, "Sirius, do you think you can help me with my Halloween prank this year?"

Sirius' eyes shone, and he looked like a little boy on Christmas morning. "Of course I can help you. But first, how about we go and wake up James?"

Harry giggled, and filled up a bucket with cold water. Sirius nearly fell over laughing, and he winked at Harry.

Together, they made their way upstairs towards Lily and James' room, where James was sprawled, eagle-spread on his back. Quietly, Harry walked right up to him, and flung the water in his father's face.

James let out a yelp, and started to shiver. "Good Morning, Prongslet, Sirius." He said, through chattering teeth.

"Morning, Dad. Can you and Sirius please help me with my Halloween prank this year?" Harry asked, and his father mock-glared at him.

"Who's been teaching you to prank, young man?" James mock-demanded of his son.

"I bet it was Lily." Sirius said sternly, though his eyes were shining with mirth.

Harry laughed; he did like it when his father and Godfather joked about with him like this.

"So, this prank of your's, what is it?" His father asked, and Harry told them. "Will it work?" He asked.

His father and Godfather grinned at each other, and nodded. Harry's Halloween prank would be very successful, but they needed someone else in on the prank so that Harry could stay with them for the week.

"What about that friend of your's, Hermione?" Sirius suggested, and Harry agreed. Then all the arrangements were made, as well as everything that Harry needed to make his trick work.

24th October, 199

That morning, Harry woke up feeling very excited, and a little nervous about his prank. But then he remembered that next year he and Hermione would be attending Hogwarts school, and they wouldn't be in England for Halloween.

_It's my last chance to win. _He thought as his father walked in, followed by a House Elf who was bringing him some breakfast.

"Thank you, Misty." He told the little elf, who bowed, and vanished with a crack.

Later, he and Hermione were planning to go fishing, and to put the first part of the prank into action.

"So, Harry. Would you like to see your coffin?" James asked, and Harry nodded. When he had finished breakfast, he got dressed, and headed into the woodwork room, where his father made all sorts of wooden things. The coffin, like all the other pieces of work, was incredible. It was the sort of coffin you would bury someone important in, what with the rather expensive wood, and the velvet plush interior.

"It's an amazing piece of work, Dad." Harry said, and turned to leave, only to cry out in surprise when he noticed that he was lying on the ground, clearly injured and clearly dead.

James let out a hoot of laughter, and he said, "That's the doll that's made to look like you, Harry." Still chuckling, he picked up his wand, and muttered a spell, before waving it over "Harry."

"When you need to "die", just place the doll in the water. It'll revert back to it's normal size." James said, and carefully placed the doll inside the picnic basket, which was filled with all sorts of yummy foods.

At elven-thirty that morning, Harry hugged his parents and Godfather good-bye, with Lily telling him to be home for dinner.

He strided off through the village, chatting to Ginny and Ron, who were staying with a cousin of theirs. Then he headed towards the lake, where Hermione was waiting for him, reading a book.

"Hi, Hermione. I hope you haven't been waiting long." He said, and she shook her head. "No, I haven't been waiting long, but what exactly is your prank this year?" She asked, and he told her.

His prank was to pretend to die a week before Halloween whilst out fishing, by "drowning" in the lake and smashing his head open on a rock. Then, on Halloween, Sirius would turn him into a "ghost" so that he could prank everybody else, and hopefully, win the prize.

"That sounds somewhat reckless, but also somewhat fun." Hermione said, and cast her rod out into the lake. Harry followed suit, and pretty soon they had caught a freshwater lake fish. Then, the two friends shared the delicious lunch of ham and salad, followed by a nice chocolate cake.

Then, after lunch, Harry and Hermione carried on fishing until four thirty, when Harry decided that he should start heading back. As they walked through the forest, Hermione said suddenly, " And remember Harry, the last scream you hear may be your own."

Harry stared at her. "A bit random, if you ask me." He said, but suddenly, he let out a scream, and at the same time, he threw his "body" into the shallow parts of the lake. Hermione gasped; it really did look as though Harry was lying dead in the water.

"I'll have to ask James to teach me that one." She said, thoughtfully, as she and Harry took a shortcut towards her house.

Some time later, Lily and James were out walking by the lake, wondering why Harry hadn't returned home from his fishing trip.

"It's most pec-" Lily started to say, but cut herself off with a scream of horror as she looked into the shallow waters of the lake. There, lying so peacefully that he may have been asleep, was Harry. But his mother knew that her son wasn't asleep, but dead.

As her emerald eyes filled with tears, she spotted a patch of grass that was all messed up; clearly Harry had tried to pull himself up as he fell, but had lost his footing. Lily was so distraught that she didn't stop to consider that it might have been a prank, and, pulling her dead son out of the water, she took him home.

James followed behind her, and was crying as well. He was pleased that the first part of the prank had gone so well, and if Lily didn't cancel the contest, the second part would be as successful.

31st October, 1990

Thankfully, Lily didn't cancel the contest, and James had gone to Harry's school to inform them that Harry had tragically lost his life in the local lake. There were a few boys who turned rather pale at this piece of horrific news; they hadn't exactly ever really been nice to Harry, not since Harry had used accidental Magic and given their teacher green hair.

James was delighted with this; Harry would have someone to prank, and he wouldn't be in trouble for missing school as Mr. Granger, Hermione's father, was the Headmaster.

Now, he, Harry and Sirius were waiting in the graveyard till ten, when Harry would become a "ghost." As the church clock rang ten, Sirius turned Harry into a "ghost" and his Godson left the graveyard, wailing in a very convincing way as he floated down the street.

Several boys from Harry's school saw him coming, and they began to run, spilling their bags of candy and not caring in the least. Harry floated up to one boy who had been nasty to him, warning him that he would never get another night of peaceful rest as long as he lived.

"Potter, I'm sorry." Wailed Piers Polkiss, tears running down his face. He looked so terrified, that Harry began to feel ever so slightly sorry for him.

"Well, it's too late to apologise now, Piers." Harry whispered in a ghost-like way, before turning around in the air, and going to find someone else to haunt. By the end of the hour, he had terrified ten people, including his teacher. Now, the only person left that he wanted to haunt was his mother.

He floated into the house, and Lily was terrified. She backed up against the wall in fright, and told Harry over and over that she missed him so much.

"It's all my fault! I should never have let you go fishing." She sobbed, as Harry floated around her. Just then, James and Sirius burst into the house, saw Harry floating around Lily, and burst into a hearty guffaw. Sirius cancelled the spell, and Harry was caught by his father, who was still doubled up with laughter.

Lily was in shock, and then, she rolled her eyes at her own foolishness. "How silly I was to think that my baby was dead?" She said, and the next day, awarded Harry first prize, which was a massive hamper from Honeydukes filled with all sorts of candy.


End file.
